Peg board games have long been known and have been played by numerous people around the world. Peg board games such as Cribbage, the simple game of Tic Tac Toe, or the popular 70's game of Mastermind can be mentioned as examples. The card playing and peg board game of cribbage was believed to be invented over 3 centuries ago in the early 1600's. Over the years many variations and styles to the cribbage peg board have been invented which have similarities to the peg board component of the invention. Some examples of these cribbage peg board variations as cross referenced in U.S. patent documents are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,883BrewerU.S. Pat. No. 5,498,005JacquesU.S. Pat. No. 4,902,018MorseU.S. Pat. No. 2,415,073BuffmireU.S. Pat. No. 695,303GrahamU.S. Pat. No. D441,803StreifelU.S. Pat. No. 3,347,460DicksonU.S. Pat. No. 2,223,175InkU.S. Pat. No. 4,598,912Kendrick et alU.S. Pat. No. 2,477,825RichardsonU.S. Pat. No. 3,695,512Trudel
Similarly, many card games have been invented and played by people for centuries. According to The United States Playing Card Company, the earliest documented history of card playing was believed to have originated in central Asia in the 10th century where the Chinese began using paper dominoes by shuffling and dealing them like cards. Eventually four-suited decks evolved in the Moslem world and were imported by Europeans. With the invention of woodcuts in the 14th century, Europeans began mass card production, and with this came the development of numerous card games.
Some examples of trick capturing card games similar to the invention include Rook, Hearts, Euchre, Whist, Bridge and Spades. Some examples of card games as cross referenced in U.S. patent documents are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,334Parker, Jr.U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,774TaylorU.S. Pat. No. 6,003,870JohnsonU.S. Pat. No. 6,155,567KeleherU.S. Pat. No. 5,375,845Cooter et al.U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,059Mundle et al.U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,667RichardsU.S. Pat. No. 4,071,247BreslowU.S. Pat. No. 4,332,386TownsendU.S. Pat. No. 4,195,767HardenU.S. Pat. No. 1,656,993SearleSome examples of cribbage peg board variations as cross referenced in Foreign Canadian Patent documents are as follows:
#CA 2,369,219Droppo/Dunning#CA 1,230,585Blais#CA 1,202,283Yakich#CA 1,195,001Mah#CA 1,120,507Rintoul#CA 1,020,919Cyre#CA 914,632Mackenzie/Klemm#CA 705,250Bradley#CA 560,243Pepin#CA 531,003Kaun#CA 493,310Stackhouse#CA 497,126Lupton#CA 481,170Hicks#CA 469,439Tweed/Tweed#CA 436,802Brooks#CA 369,282Robitaille/Muggah#CA 320,055BrophySome examples of card games as cross referenced in Foreign Canadian Patent documents are as follows:
#CA 2,243,384Placid#CA 2,096,288Ross/Ross/Foster/Czarnecki#CA 1,299,596Staysko/Staysko#CA 931,181Breslow#CA 369,680Stone/Freiman#CA 369,016Stone/Freiman#CA 334,165Paul#CA 1,167,076Poirier/Zacher#CA 1,081,725Gerard#CA 1,057,322Magiera
Consequently, the background of this invention was derived from a number of different ideas from different game concepts. In regard to trick capturing card games however, the game of donuts! is different because:    a) the number of cards dealt to each player changes by 1 numerical value (or by 1 card) from one round to the next as the game progresses.    b) in every round of play the dealer offsets the bidding total from the trick total. Doing this ensures that at least one player will not make their bid in every round.    c) the game utilizes a peg board that provides bidding strategies and pegging opportunities for players in almost every round of play.    d) pegging on the peg board is achieved when players make their bid, shake the dice, and hit donut! circles on the peg board.
Even though many card games and/or peg board games have achieved considerable popularity and success on their own, I believe there is a market for the game of donuts! that encompasses dice, cards, card playing ability and bidding strategy in conjunction with the peg board component of the invention.